I Love You, But
by Woodsballer
Summary: A tragic event leads to sad moment.  A look into a hardened heart.  Semi-tragic SakuraXSasuke Oneshot.


I Love You, But…

The rain pounded into the mud, an endless torrent of water that filled the air with a continuous buzz. Beneath her feet, grass was matted and cold. Moisture was starting to soak into her socks, making her toes tingle from the chill.

But it didn't compare to the cold that was in her heart.

Her eyes continued to stair at the name carved in stone before her. It was another one of thousands already carved onto the memorial stone, but it would be one of the ones that held her breath the most.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

She had been there. Her ears had heard his momentary cry as the hidden needle had pierced his heart. And she couldn't have done a thing. Tsunade's training had failed her.

Her fists clenched tightly. "Dammit, Naruto. Why did you have to be so reckless?"

Tears began to fall from her cheeks, though in the rain, they weren't very noticeable. It still felt good to let it out, though. All the time they had been together, all the times he had come to her trying to win her heart, she had always turned him away. But that didn't mean she felt nothing.

Something in the rain changed. An average person wouldn't notice, but her ninja-trained ears caught it even in her disheartened state. "What are you doing here?"

For a moment, there wasn't a response until a body in white stepped up beside her. A thin black sword was hanging from his purple belt. Under any other circumstances, she would have felt anger, hatred, fear… But the only thing she felt in her heart was a strange sense of relief.

"He always was a knucklehead," Sasuke said, not a hint of emotion touching his words.

"Yeah," she answered. "He didn't stop to check for traps. He just charged right in. A tripwire sprung a needle trap that caught his heart."

"Yeah, I heard."

The silence once again began to overtake them except for the continuous drumming of the rain.

"You probably shouldn't be here, Sasuke. They'll kill you if they find you."

"I'm not here to fight."

"They won't know that." More silence. She should be feeling more. Having him here, she should be either terrified or overjoyed. But there was nothing. "Sasuke, why won't you come back? You killed Itachi."

"The Village killed my family. I can't let it stand."

She turned her head and looked at him. His face showed absolutely no emotion just like his voice. If he was crying, the rain hid it. "Sasuke, please. Forget all that. Why can't you just move on?"

"To what?" he asked. "I have nothing else."

"You have me."

She hadn't intended for the words to come out, but they did. The silence that followed stretched on for seconds until she couldn't bear it any more. "Please, Sasuke. I've spent nights awake wishing you would come back. I love you. Can't you see that?"

"Sakura… I can't."

Her breath suddenly caught in her throat.

"There are some things a person simply can't do. My destiny is to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village. Love would only make me weak towards that goal." He turned and started to walk away.

"Wait." His feet stopped. "Forget the Leaf. Just for a moment. What if you didn't have to destroy it? What then?"

"Then there'd be nothing stopping me."

Her breath slowed again as she understood what he was saying.

He looked back over his shoulder. "When it happens, you should leave. I don't want to have to kill you." His body flickered and vanished.

The slight elation she had been feeling suddenly crashed around her. Her feet slid out and she fell to her knees. Her tears once again began to mix with the rain.

She didn't move until her bones began to grow cold. Slowly, her legs pushed her up to her feet. Her wet hands brushed her face, wiping away the slight residue her tears had left.

Sasuke had denied her again, but only for the moment. She could sense there was something still in him. That was all she needed to keep on fighting.

_End._

**A/N: ** For the record, I'm not happy about killing off Naruto. I needed something that would get Sakura and Sasuke together on peaceful terms and that's what I came up with. It's not a pivotal fact, so please don't flame me.

Aside from that, what did you think? All other comments are welcome. I hope you enjoyed it.

**Legal: **I do not own Naruto or related characters/themes. This story is copyrighted to me and may not be used in part or in whole without my permission. This story is not used for profit.


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